Red Sox land Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo

BOSTON — The Red Sox have learned to speak in code, since everything they say is magnified, analyzed and dissected. What they said on Friday is that they've lost faith in their farm system.

Boston is signing, according to multiple reports — none of them denied by the team — Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo. Castillo, 27, has to pass a physical scheduled for today. If he does, and all the financial details are ironed out, the Red Sox will pay him about $72.5 million over seven years, one of them being this one.

"I've read the reports," said John Farrell, "and there are still some administrative things that they have to go through before anything is announced."

The manager added that the scouting reports on Castillo indicate that he has above average speed and can play either center field or right field. He stands 5-foot-9 and weighs somewhere between 175 and 200 pounds. Comparisons have been made between him and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Castillo played for the Avila Tigers in the Cuban National Series from 2008-12, according to Baseball Reference. Unofficial statistics have him as a .300 hitter with 15-20 home runs a year.

Castillo is a defector and has not played since 2012 as he prepared to make the transition to major league baseball. He is expected to be in uniform right after signing, and may need some time in Pawtucket to get his legs under him. Otherwise, the Sox project him as an immediate major leaguer.

The success of other recent Cuban defectors, Farrell said, shows that players from that island are ready for major league competition.

"The one thing that stands out," he said, "you look at Yoenis' (Cespedes) performance in Oakland, at (Jose) Abreu in Chicago. You look at the number of games they play on the international stage, and the talent they play against ... they are a little more of a known commodity than someone who has never played in the major leagues."

Castillo left Cuba six months ago and established residency in Haiti. In July, he was cleared to sign with an American team by the State Department and then declared a free agent by the commissioner's office.

Boston was one of many teams interested in Castillo and won the bidding war with the largest offer ever made to a Cuban free agent.

Castillo's contract keeps him under Red Sox control through 2020. Boston has just nine players under contract past the end of this season. The only other one whose deal is longer than Castillo's is Dustin Pedroia, who is signed through 2021.

Allen Craig's contract ends in 2017. Boston is obligated to keep Cespedes, Clay Buchholz, Edward Mujica, Mike Napoli, David Ortiz and Shane Victorino through the end of next year.

When Castillo arrives, he will have a countryman in the clubhouse in the person of Cespedes, who also was born and raised in Cuba.

The Red Sox have, in recent seasons, become more involved with Cuban players. They traded for Cespedes last month and signed Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias as a 19-year-old free agent in 1999, and who debuted in 2011.

Boston employed Cuban pitcher Rolando Arrojo from 2000-02.

Castillo and Cespedes will be just the second pair of Cubans to be Red Sox teammates. Pitchers Luis Tiant and Diego Segui were together on the 1974-75 Sox.

With Castillo on the way, and Craig, Cespedes and Victorino all committed to for next year, Boston may have a logjam in the outfield unless trades are made. It looks like Jackie Bradley Jr. has been written off, and Friday night's center fielder, Mookie Betts, is only out there as a last resort.

"There is a clear-cut plan to retooling this roster," Farrell said, and Boston will make its most extensive and expensive adjustment if Castillo passes his physical today.